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Is your smile beginning to look a little dull? Has its luster faded over the years? Maybe you’ve got a chipped tooth, or maybe a couple. You don’t have to live with these imperfections if you don’t want to. At Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City, porcelain veneers can mask these and other dental flaws, leaving you with a magnificent smile.

Porcelain veneers are thin shells of medical-grade ceramic or composite resin. We custom fit veneers to go over the front part of your teeth, giving your smile an attractive, completely natural appearance. You can use veneers to fix stained or chipped teeth, slightly crooked teeth, or abnormally spaced teeth.

Veneers are one of the most popular options available in modern cosmetic dentistry. They are very strong, look completely natural, and are made to match the color and shape of your teeth.

One caveat: a thin layer of enamel must be removed from the front of each tooth being covered with a veneer, in order for them to properly adhere. Once they’re cemented in place, they are permanent. But once they are in place, you’ll have the best-looking teeth of anyone you know.

To find out more, schedule a consultation with Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City. Porcelain veneers are just one of the cosmetic dentistry options we provide. Make an appointment today.

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If you want to brighten your smile with cosmetic dentistry, visit Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City for an exam and consultation.

We believe that the smile makeover consultation is the most important component of the process. Think of it as a preliminary appointment. It’s your opportunity to find out what procedures are available to you, and our opportunity to find out your goals.

During your no-pressure smile makeover consultation we will review the following issues:

Your vision and expectations of how you want your smile to look and feel after the makeover.

You can see before and after pictures of smile transformation patients.

Your options for how to schedule the makeover process (all at once or over time).

Information about oral conscious sedation.

Answers to all of your questions and concerns.

Cosmetic dentistry prices and financing options.

By listening carefully, communicating clearly, and asking the right questions, the team at Kenneteh Hovden DDS in Daly City can fully assess the many important variables unique to your smile makeover needs. We offer a full range of cosmetic dentistry services, including porcelain veneers and dental implants. Schedule that consultation today!

This is a critical question occasionally asked by patients at Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City. The dentist’s answer, however, is “No!”

Bleeding is probably a sign that you need to clean your teeth and gums more thoroughly—not leave them alone. It is extremely challenging to clean effectively between teeth without using floss or an interdental brush.

If you have never flossed before, your gums might bleed the first few times you do. The bleeding may be due to gum inflammation, the beginnings of gum disease. Keep flossing gently and the bleeding often stops within a week or two.

Gingivitis (early gum disease) and the more advanced periodontal disease is extremely common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that half of American adults aged 30 and over have periodontal disease. It is definitely not something to be taken lightly.

If you don’t make flossing a habit, and your gums become sore, swollen, and tender, it could result in gum disease. The good news is that, unlike dental caries, gum disease can be reversed with improved oral hygiene.

It is important to correctly use dental floss to remove plaque and food particles from between the teeth:

Cut a length of floss about 18 inches long.

Securely wind each end around your middle fingers.

Take hold of the floss with your forefinger and thumb leaving about two inches to work with.

Thread the floss between two teeth.

Hold the floss tightly against the side of the tooth and move it up and away from the gumline. You want to clean the space between the tooth and gum without pulling more gum tissue away, so it’s vital to scrape up and out of the pocket.

Move the floss around the tooth to clean every surface—especially those that your brush can’t reach. As you use a section of floss, unwind from one hand to access a clean piece. With 18 inches, you should have enough to provide a clean section for every tooth. If you run out, that’s okay. Just toss the used piece and cut a new one.

Some people find it easier to start on one end on the upper teeth and clean each gap one by one until they reach the end on the opposite side. Then repeat for the bottom row. Whatever you decide on, make sure you clean around every tooth, including the back surfaces of the last molars.

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Have you ever heard the phrase ‘I’d rather have a root canal’ to describe something painful or unpleasant? At Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City, we perform root canal therapy routinely for our patients and many report minimal discomfort.

Root canals have advanced significantly in recent years. For many patients, the procedure is no more stressful than getting a filling.

How do you know if you need a root canal? You should speak with us immediately if you experience tenderness or pain, hot or cold sensitivity, tooth discoloration, tooth injury, gum swelling, gum pain, or lymph node tenderness or drainage. However, for some patients, there are no symptoms. That is why it is essential to visit us regularly for a thorough dental examination and dental cleaning.

At Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City, we provide root canal treatment along with cosmetic dentistry and other services. Schedule an appointment with us today.

When we examine a patient for the first time, we can usually tell whether the person drank fluoride-adjusted municipal water while growing up. Generally, their teeth are healthier than people who had lower fluoride levels in their tap water.

However, this mighty element also helps teeth remineralize if acids have already compromised the critical enamel. For decay prevention and teeth strengthening, sufficient fluoride is indispensable.

If you have babies and your municipal water supply does not have the recommended level of fluoride, you may want to consider giving your kids a fluoride supplement. The fluoride will strengthen the primary teeth that have already erupted and also the adult teeth that are forming.

The American Dental Association supports water fluoridation:

More than 65 years ago, on January 25, 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan became the world’s first city to adjust the level of fluoride in its water supply. Since that time, fluoridation has dramatically improved the oral health of tens of millions of Americans. Community water fluoridation is the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay.’

At Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City, we provide exceptional dental care for all members of the family including general and cosmetic dentistry.

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A dental crown is a strong, natural-looking permanent tooth restoration that covers the top of the damaged tooth. At Kenneteh Hovden DDS in Daly City, we use dental crowns to solve a number of dental dilemmas.

Crowns can remedy the following issues:

A cracked tooth with decay

A poorly-fitting existing crown

A decayed tooth that has lost a considerable amount of tooth structure

A tooth that has had a root canal

A tooth that is too small or misshapen

A tooth that causes bite misalignment

Before we can attach the crown to your tooth, we must prepare the tooth. We may give you a local anesthetic so you won’t feel pain during the prepping.

We will remove decay, if any, and shape the tooth to receive the crown. Then a mold is taken of the prepped tooth and surrounding teeth.

A temporary crown is then placed on the tooth to guard it until you return to receive the permanent restoration. The patient needs to be wary while wearing the temporary crown. Vigorous brushing or flossing can displace the crown or damage the exposed soft tissue. The patient should also refrain from eating extremely hard foods like nuts or sticky candy.

The mold of your teeth is sent to a dental lab where your crown is created. Dental crowns are offered in three varieties: tooth-colored crowns made of resin or porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, and solid metal crowns.

Each type has its pros and cons. We will choose the best suited crown material for your particular tooth.

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Q: When is the least expensive tooth replacement method really the most expensive?

A: When it ends up costing far more in the long run.

Many of our patients at Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City don’t understand, after they’ve lost a tooth, how important it is to replace it with a dental implant. They wrongly believe that one missing tooth is not a significant problem.

In fact, some people who have an abscessed tooth extracted are so glad the pain is gone that they forget that the extraction is not the solution. When a tooth is lost, the risk of losing the adjacent teeth increases dramatically.

Dr. David Scharf, a Board Certified Periodontist and Dental Implant Surgeon and a Clinical Assistant Professor at New York University College of Dentistry says:

“Many times consumers will choose to replace a missing tooth with a removable partial denture because it is the least expensive option. In the long run however, removable partial dentures may be more costly due the loss of adjacent teeth and the need for future replacements. Many people opt to replace teeth with dental implants because they do not compromise the survival of the adjacent teeth.”

Dr. Scharf notes…

“With the price of gasoline and food soaring people try to cut back wherever they can. Unfortunately choosing the least expensive options for tooth replacement can have some very costly ramifications down the road.”

If you are missing a tooth, you may still be able to save the adjacent teeth if you receive an implant soon. An implant bonds with the jaw bone and helps maintain its stability.

To find out more about the benefits of dental implants, call Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City. We also provide general dentistry. Schedule a consultation with us today!

If you replace your old silver fillings with tooth colored fillings, you can open wide without flashing any silver. Your rear molars will look like they did before you had any cavities filled. (How long ago was that?)

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The word “LASER” is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A laser device emits a powerful, highly-concentrated beam of light. (Didn’t we all love the amazing laser weapons in ‘Star Wars?’) Lasers are used in hundreds of applications in almost every California industry including communications, researching, manufacturing, entertainment and medicine.

Lasers are now used in some technologically-advanced Daly City dental practices on both hard (tooth) and soft (gum) tissue. Lasers allow San Francisco cosmetic dentists a degree of precision that was previously impossible.

If you are interested in any of these procedures, call Kenneth Hovden DDS. We stay ahead of the curve with all dental technology, including laser dentistry.

The latest dental technology is useless without the skill and experience necessary to deliver the best possible outcomes. Let us show you some photos of the results we routinely achieve at Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City.

Our teeth have many important functions. We need them to chew our food, talk, and smile. But have you ever considered their role in holding up your face? When we lose teeth, the bone around the site of the extraction begins to shrink. This, in turn, causes our facial muscles to sink in and collapse. For people who have lost a tooth, it’s a serious issue, but dental implants from Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City can address it.

Bone Metabolism

We sometimes think of bone as a solid mass, unlike the softer tissues in our body. In reality, below the seemingly rock-hard surface, bone tissue is full of small holes – kind of like a sponge. In the interior bone tissue, the bone is constantly regenerating itself. This essential process is sometimes called “bone metabolism.” In the jaw bone, the movement of the teeth stimulate this process of rebuilding. When the tooth is gone, the bone starts to shrink as blood flow is reduced.

People with missing teeth not only have an unattractive gap in their smile, they begin to look older because of the bone recession and eventual facial sagging. It is not simply an issue of attractiveness – it poses serious health dangers. It may become difficult to chew food, making it harder to get adequate nutrition. Mental health can also be affected when a patient with missing teeth loses confidence in themself or withdraws from social situations because they are self-conscious about their smile.

Dental Implants Can Prevent Bone Recession

Modern dentistry to the rescue! Dental implant technology provides a tooth restoration solution that maintains healthy bone metabolism while providing near-normal tooth function. For patients missing many (or all) of their teeth, it may not be possible to replace every single tooth with an implant. In many of these cases, dental implants can be used to provide an anchor for a partial denture.

What if your bone has shrunken so much that there is not enough to support an implant? You may be a candidate for bone augmentation or bone grafting. This procedure is routinely carried out with success.

If you are missing teeth, don’t resign yourself to dentures. Dental implants can provide a brilliant smile! Schedule a consultation with Kenneth Hovden DDS in Daly City. We also offer porcelain veneers, and other cosmetic dentistry. Schedule an appointment today.